Veishea is billed as the largest student run event in the nation. Yet there is really nothing to it. Oh sure, it is a good party (this year may be a very interesting party indeed), but as far as events go, it seems more like a cheesy small town festival.

Veishea coordinators may argue that there are plenty of activities for the students, like shows, lectures, exhibits, etc. This is true; however, these are the same activities we can do on any given weekend.

In the March 31 issue of the Daily, Thomas Hill, vice president of student affairs, made the most backward and misguided statement I thought I would ever hear from the vice president of anything. Hill said he wants Veishea to be limited to the ISU family and members of the community that care about the future of ISU.

That’s a real progressive goal. Let’s take the one event that has the potential to bring national attention to ISU and piss on it. This opportunity should be seized, not thrown away.

Veishea sells itself short. We could get some impressive names here for all aspects of the celebration. Again, there is an argument that there is already plenty to do. However, this is the “largest student run event in the nation.” Why can’t we get some big-name events?

What I have in mind here are two separate types of events. The first should be entertainment and party events and the second should be university showcase events. Despite what Mr. Hill thinks, Veishea should be an event used mainly to draw national attention to the university.

We should bring in speakers to represent the different colleges at our diverse university. My suggestion is to go all out. Bring in Ted Turner for the business college, John Horgan (science writer) for LAS, engineering astronauts from NASA, and so on.

This may seem far-fetched at first, but this event has the power to get these people in here. If we cannot get the big names next year, we just need to keep trying. If you invite them, they will come. We have the opportunity, now let’s make something of it.

The second type of events that we should have are entertainment based. On Friday, we could have some good stand-up comedians perform. Saturday could be reserved for the speeches to enhance our colleges. Sunday could be reserved for a music festival on the lawn between Curtiss and Beardshear. This event can get the big names here. Don’t settle for less.

Mr. Hill’s idea of what Veishea should be is numbingly lame. This is pure speculation, but I think Mr. Hill’s comments stem from some sort of irrational fear of students drinking alcohol. I am tempted to say to students that they should behave themselves to promote Veishea, but the problems of alcohol are ones that we have to put up with in order to have a free society.

Our great country is notorious for flubbing up substance control. Ames and Iowa State University are prime examples of this stupidity. They seem to want as much prohibition as the law will allow. The problem with prohibition, in case they have forgotten, is that it doesn’t work!

Strict disciplinarian policies, bordering on martial law, breed rebellion, and that unfortunately is a potential problem this year. Rioting, or at least unruliness, is almost inevitable. Living in a constipated town, as one poignant Quick E submitter observed, such as Ames, is frustrating. This frustration is going to find an outlet, and it is going to be this year’s Veishea.

Optimism for this year’s Veishea is hard to find. Conversations on campus revolve around the likelihood of a disastrous Veishea and how irksome the weekend will be. This opinion is most obvious in the campus publications and the letters and columns students write. It is safe to say that anyone who agrees with this year’s policies are in an insignificant minority.

Despite all of this, I am going to make the best of it this year. I will go to the parade, the play, and the exhibits. However, I will be thinking the whole time of what the celebration could be, and how I am being ripped off.

Aaron Klemm is a sophomore in physics from Woden.